Systems, such as computer systems, often manage a set of resources. The resources in the set may be limited in number, or of a fixed or predetermined number. Different components in the system may vie to access a certain number of these resources on an exclusive basis, and for at least a period of time. If a particular component cannot obtain such access to the specified number of resources at the time they are requested, the operation of that component may disadvantageously slow down or even stall, while it is waiting for the resources to be made available to it. This results in a reduction in system throughput, and may also adversely affect the operation of other components in the system as well. Taken to the extreme, system operation may come to a halt.